Scared of Skin
by Danii2
Summary: Soul Windows are a common occurrence in everyday life, they can help you see the past or present life you shared with someone else. Sometimes, its pleasant, but other times... you see nightmares. Chase has had several bad experiences and has no desire to ever experience one again. But can that change? Another AU called "Your Soul and Mine" of the TMH Timeline!


If there was anything Chase hated more than the hot weather of Nevada, it was how many goddamn people there were in Vegas. Parking was just as annoying and he found himself unable to find a place under cover. Chase sighed internally as he parked his vehicle out in the open... It was going to be hot in here when he finally left, since he couldn't leave the windows open even a crack due to the amount of equipment in the backseat.

He turned the car off and rubbed his face in annoyance before Chase swiped up the white silky gloves from the dash and put them on, muted curses at himself for their warmth. Maybe he should go without… A twist of sick went through his stomach and he decided otherwise as he knit his fingers together to bring the gloves to a perfect fit and got out of the car. Once he'd retrieved his satchel and small duffel, he locked the doors and went towards towards the casino-hotel that the meeting would be held at.

It was loud, and crowded. Several people almost brushed up against him as they walked by but he was a quick sidestepper, making his way through the place and to the elevator. Chase decided to take the stairs when he saw the line. Their meeting room was only on the fifth level, it wouldn't be a long walk.

He was heavily annoyed when he got to the fifth floor, but had no idea where the hell he was going. The redhead growled lowly to himself as he stared hard at the map of the floor posted by the wall, hand tight around the handle of his duffel bag.

"Give a man a warning before you make a noise like that."

Chase turned his head and almost jumped three feet up at the sudden appearance of a man beside him. The man was in beach clothes, had to be around his age, and was ridiculously fit from what Chase could tell but severely lacking in the tan department. Still, he was darker-skinned than the freckled and flustered agent that stared wide-eyes and the almost _sultry_ jade eyes that peeked over sunglasses.

"Excuse me?" Chase could feel his face warm up, the man noticed and flashed a cheekily annoying smile.

"Just saying. You lost?"

 _"No."_

"Mm, then I guess you were growling at something else?" The words, which had the briefest hints of British, rolled from the other's tongue and Chase had to refrain from an eye-twitch. After a long moment's silence, he found words.

"Do you know how to read this thing?"

"Vaguely, what are you looking for?"

"Lavender Room."

"Hmm, well, if we looked down here at the key…" The man reached out as he stepped close, and Chase automatically stepped away. For a moment, he thought the face of the other turned to one of someone who'd just been slapped, but he could have imagined it. His eyes followed the hand as it pointed to 'Lavender Room = 8', then moved over the point on a room on the map.

"There you are."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Chase watched as the person turned and left, and for a moment, his mouth opened. Who was this guy? Why was he here? _What was he doing later?_ But he paused, instead staring into the distance as he incredulously asked himself _The fuck?_. He shook his head, and headed off.

* * *

The meeting, of course, was three maybe four hours of bullshit plans that no one could agree on. Chase, even more aggravated now, decided that he was going to take advantage of being in Vegas. Once he'd changed into some jeans and switch out to a soft green dress-top, he shoved his gloved hands into his pockets and exited the hotel.

 _...holy shit, this is hot._

He was sure he might burst into flames as he unbuttoned the top two buttons and rolled up his sleeves up before he managed to flag down a taxi. Once inside, the drive glanced back.

"Where to?"

"Circus Circus."

"Yes sir." Chase's phone buzzed as the taxi pulled out, and he glanced at it. _Kiara._ It rang thrice before he put it to his ear.

"Colton here."

"Where did you go?"

"Out."

"Without calling me? I'm hurt."

"I'm not turning around."

"Just tell me where you're going and I'll meet you there!"

"As long as you PROMISE not to bring up work. Or get drunk."

"Isn't that where you're going."

"Meet me at the buffet in Circus, asshole. I'll pay."

"Be there in two hops!"

Somehow, Kiara was always there before him, which always resulted in them playfully cussing each other out to the point it drew stares. But it was done as quick as it started, and soon they were sitting down across from each other as they laughed about recent events. Chase had his gloves off as he cracked another crab leg open and slurped out the insides while Kiara told the story of her flight over.

"So this guy, he's like… PLASTERED before he even gets on the plane and their trying to explain to him that they can't serve him if he's already drunk and he's trying to tell them he's not. So the flight attendant, she'd like, 'Okay, how about you do a little dance for me, walk to one end on the the line, and back while doing a little dance to show you're not drunk.' And he does! Just over the top to the end and back, even adds a little cartwheel and the flight attendant is like 'wow, you're such a good dancer!' and he responds with 'only when I'm drunk!'. So yeah, he didn't get any more drinks and I almost threw up trying not to laugh at the backpedaling.".

"Holy shit." Chase laughed before the two into a small chuckle-fest while she took a sip of her drink.

"So how about you, have any fun events happen?"

"Mmm… Not really. Oh! Did I tell you about the fucker?"

"The fucker?"

"I couldn't read the map outside the elevator so I guess I made a noise and some random British fuck told me to 'give a man a warning before making a noise like that'."

Kiara made a choked noise before she started to cough on her second sip, but waved off her friend as he tried to pat her back, mildly alarmed. Soon, she caught her breath, and rubbed her eyes free of the tears of laughter.

"You're pulling my leg."

"I'm not!"

"What did you say back to him? Nothing witty, I'm sure."

"Oh, suck a cunt."

"Speaking of sucking cunts…" Kiara's tone changed and Chase paused and glanced up, then slowly set his food down to wipe his hands and sit back. The woman only stared back at him, her deep green eyes filled with worry and her flecked skin crinkled around the eyes.

"What?"

"Chase… You know, it hurts me to see you closing yourself off like this. I talked to your sisters, they said you stopped giving them hugs your last few visits. You won't let anyone touch you, I'm afraid of what's going to happen to you when you retire."

"What does that have anything to do with sucking cunts?"

"You need to find someone, Chase! You can't close yourself off like this forever. What are you going to do when you get old and need help, need to have people always around you?"

"I won't be around that long, not in this line of work."

"Don't say that, Chase. Don't." There was a long moment of silence, then a sigh from Kiara. "Chase… not everyone you meet is going to trigger Soul Windows…"

"How do you know that?" Chase hissed, and the other fell silent, "Of the ten to twenty people I've had voluntary physical contact with in the last 18 years, seven of them have opened Soul Windows! Five of them have been so terrifying and so disturbing that I became physically sick from it. You think I _want_ to be alone?"

"All I'm saying is you can't close yourself off like this. What if someone who doesn't set one off, or hell, someone who sets off a soul-link comes into your life and you lose them because you were scared of taking a chance?"

"Kiara, you don't know the nightmares that I had because of the Windows. Weeks of sleepless nights, of tearing my skin with my own nails trying to will the phantom burns away. Of wanting to die."

"Chase… I know I…. I know I can't ever experience what you did because we have different Windows… But I don't want it to be like this for you…"

There was another silence, long and filled with meaningful stares before Kiara slowly offered her hand. Chase looked at it, and swallowed, but feebly reached his hand out and touched the tips of her fingers. There was a pause, but as always, nothing happened.

So, slowly, the two intertwined their fingers and held each other's hands quietly. The bottom of Chase's heart ached a little, and he swallowed. He wished maybe, one day, he'd find someone just like his best friend that he wasn't afraid to touch.

Another silence followed before he drew his hand away to start again on his feast. Kiara did too, the air around them filled with chatter of other diners before Chase cleared his throat, and tried to speak around the smirk that had formed.

"So have you found your furry alien girlfriend yet?"

"Oh my GOD."

* * *

The day of the mission came, and Chase was sent first to infiltrate. Their target was a 'entrance' inside a crowded, booming nightclub that was said to lead secret paterons to a 'land of forbidden pleasure'. This 'forbidden pleasure' was sex traffic victims, all underage. The FBI unit Chase worked for had grasped at information for months to get into this place to overturn this sick business. All he had to do… was be shown the door.

Chase tugged at the fake amulet around his neck and scratched his ear by his invisible earpiece as he finally made it through the line. Effortlessly, he weaved through the crowd to try to find his way to a bar. It was crowded but as long as he made it there, he could get this ball rolling.

 **_Just order Sex on the Beach with a Twist, show the tender your amulet when he asks if you'll be paying, and wait for your escort. Once you find the door, count the guards inside and out. Turn your time back on your watch if there's more than five, forwards if there is or less than. Tell your escort you want to use the bathroom before you start, and set off the signal. You know how it is from there out._ **

Chase nodded slowly to himself as he found an empty seat and slide into it. He leaned on the counter and tried to make eye contact with the tender, therefore did not noticed someone slide in next to him. The bartender ambled up.

"What do you want?"

"Sex on the Beach…. With a Twist."

"Will you be paying for that?" The bartender asked. He watched Chase's hand go down and finger the piece on his neck, and nodded.

"Be right out." The bartender left, and Chase sighed while he pulled his gloves tighter. Again, he almost jumped in the air as a familiar voice came to his ears.

"Did take you as a club goer. Or a Sex on the Beach kinda guy. But what's with the twist?"

Chase whipped his head around to stare at the Brit that was leaned… almost provocatively, against the counter, nibbling on the cherry from whatever drink he'd ordered. His glasses were gone, replaced with a glowing paint on his cheekbones. Or maybe it was a neon marker that glowed because of the blacklights. Chase was stumped to stupor before he face turned red, and he snorted.

"You again? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm on vacation, SAS is a hard life. Say, what's the twist of that drink?"

"SAS… British… Special forces?" Chase deadpanned, almost disbelieving, and watched as the man put his finger to his leps.

"Shh, I don't want the girls to know. They're not really what I'm looking for."

A gear clicked in Chase's head and he turned another shade darker, "Are you hitting on me, sir?"

A wonderful laugh filled his ears, short yet sweet that for a moment, made him forget that he was suppose to be working. His eyes widened slightly as the Brit regained himself.

"You growled at me, I decided to return the favor! I only wanted to get your name. I'm Nate." The brit offered his hand, and suddenly Chase's stomach clenched extremely hard. His gloves were on, but... He was afraid. Meekly, he took the hand offered. He did not miss the eyes dart to his gloved hand, or the very faint arch of the eyebrow, but they still shared a firm handshake.

"Chase."

"Well, Chase, it's been a pleasure to meet you." Out of the corner of his eye, Chase saw the bartender with a girl, headed their way. It was in that moment that a part of him that normally made irrational decisions kicked in, and he gave Nate a firm yank towards him. He didn't miss the gasp of surprise as their cheekbones hovered millimeters apart, jade eyes wide in surprise.

"Get out of here, now. As fast as you can." Chase leat go and sat Nate up away from him again, focused on the bartender who came over while he ignored Nate who had semi-recoved. The bartenders words were a blur, but he nodded, and the woman gently took his gloved hand and started to lead him away. Briefly, he looked back across the club to find Nate gone, and while he was glad…. His heart sank.

Chase would not risk Nate getting hurt.

Not a minute later he found himself dumbly in front of three guards, mouth open and she tried to recollect what they just said to him. There was silence, then a soft squeak of "What?"

"You have a bag of grain, a chicken, and a fox. Which do you throw in the lake to keep the other two?"

That's not the riddle he knew. Very slowly, he lifted his brow and answered.

"The... The Fox?"

The guards exchanged glances, and moved aside. Internally, he sighed in relief, and followed the girl down the stairs, going back to the task at hand. He counted the guards, turned the dial, and got to the bottom. But before he could ask to go the the bathroom, the girl interrupted.

"You know, that's the first time in a long time I've ever heard someone answer fox." The voice was not a woman's, in fact, but a boy's. His stomach twisted a bit as the person looked back to stare at him with bleak brown eyes.

"I beg… I beg your pardon?"

"You're not here for forbidden fruit. The correct answer was grain, so that the fox can eat the chicken. Because you are the fox."

Chase didn't know what to say, but when the thought he might speak, their was a sharp pain that bloomed in his ribs. His eyes widened and he inhaled the cry out but found himself pounced upon, hands of blurry attackers grabbed and yanked on whatever they could. One touched his flesh, and he panicked. Chase screamed in blind terror, he kicked and punch with all his might but the attacks continued. One landed on the bloom of pain in his ribs and made it even more painful, his vision wavered and started to fade.

 _Fuck... No! I don't… I dont wANT THIS!_

There was a loud crack and boom, like thunder, and suddenly the pain started to subside. The ring in his ears was enough to block out the sound and his spotty vision made it hard to see, but he did not miss the feeling of someone picking him up.

 _"Chase!"_ The voice was muted, almost, but he could hear it. _"Chase, how do I alert your team! Chase?!"_

"W...Watch…" He whispered, and felt someone scrabble at his wrist. An icy chill flew up his body and his eyes widened as a darkness swallowed him. There were noises, and he heard his own voice screaming in terror, telling someone to do something. There was weight across his body, and a grip like a vice around him.

 _We're going to die._ He thought. It was not his own thoughts, but it _was. He's going to die, all because of me._

 **_" I love you.."_ ** The other voice was right there in his ear, and the vision became clear. He could see it, one of the horrifying metal monsters from the Window Nightmares that towered over him with a knife as tall as he. He wanted to scream, but an overwhelming wave of calm overtook him as he realized that someone else was there, someone who tried to cover him with their body. His head turned, and he could see sandy brown hair… and jade eyes full of tears that stared back at him.

 _Nate?_

 **_I love you too._ **

The world went black as Chase fainted, but the memory window bore itself into his mind… and his soul.

* * *

It was a few hours later the Kiara sat in the waiting hall of one of Vegas' hospitals, next to a man she hardly knew. They had stormed the hidden downstairs only to meet this man halfway up, who carried a bleeding and completely passed out Chase. The man was near panic, but managed to stay calm as he and Kiara had rushed to the hospital. Now they sat in absolute silence, the man stared down at his hands as she eyed the tv in the hall nearby. The news had started to report on their successful mission.

 _"...In recent new, the FBI have recently unearthed an underground sex traffic ring here in the city of Las Vegas, under our very noses here at 'Bootylicious Beat' Nightclub. The owner, staff, and as well as 15 others have been arrested, and thirty children between the age of 10 and 18 have been taken into Child Protective Services._

 _Reports from Clubbers in the nightclubs says the raid started when another clubgoer started a fight and knocked out a bouncer, but was quick to vanish before Club Security could apprehend him. Less than a few minutes later, FBI and Special Forces blocked the entrances and stormed the building. There are reports of the same clubgoer carrying out someone who appeared to be bleeding, but the FBI has yet to comment on that situation…"_

"You knocked out a bouncer?" Kiara asked, and the two looked at each other.

"...Yeh, it… it was an easy fight really."

"...Who are you, why did you go after Chase?"

"I… I really don't know but I guess… I guess something told me he was going to need my help. So I just trailed behind him."

"How did you get past all those guards?"

"Really not hard when you do it for a living… I work for the SAS, I was on vacation. I met Chase up on the fifth level of my hotel, when he got lost I guess."

Kiara eyes widened, "You're the fucker?"

"I'm the _who_?"

"The guy who made a comment when Chase made his grumpy growl! Holy shit!" Kiara laughed, "He told me all about it, you really ruffled him up."

The man gave an awkward smile before he offered his hand, "Nate Ryan."

"Kiara Samara." They shook, and she sat back with a stretch, "Damn, I hope he's okay in there."

There was a long silence, then Nate gently cleared his throat. "I didn't intend to be spying, but… I saw you guys at Circus Circus."

Kiara lifted a brow as she looked at him, smirking as she spotted the faintest of blushes, "Ooo, did you now? Well, what of it?"

"Are you two… um… t-together?"

Kiara opened her mouth to sarcastically say 'yes', but saw something in the Nate's eyes that made her think that if she answered honestly... it would make for some very interesting stories. Slowly, she shut her mouth and chewed on her inner cheek.

"No…. Ah, how to I explain this… You've ever experienced a Soul Window?"

"I have."

"Have you ever had a _bad_ experience with a Soul Window?" There was a minute twitch from Nate, then a slow nod. "Well, Chase has had a few very…. bad ones."

"Is that why he wears gloves?"

"Mm, you saw them? Yes."

"But where do you play into this?"

"I've been his friend since he joined the FBI, we accidently had skin contact in training but… nothing happened. Chase and I have different Soul Windows, you see, so he's one of the few people he allows skin contact with. Besides, I'm not into men."

"Oh." Nate nodded, and looked up as a pair of nurses passed by. Once they'd gone, he spoke lowly, "I.. I opened a window with Chase."

Kiara's eyes easily became that of saucer-sized,but her words were guarded, "...and?"

"I... I guess I was trying to protect him from something. Ready to die for him. I haven't experienced a soul window in a few years so it was a shock, it was a lot different than I remember."

"You think you guys might be… linked?"

"I won't go rolling my dice on that gamble, but… I don't know, I want to know what happened."

"Ma'am?" Kiara jumped slightly before she stood and looked over at a nurse beside them, and she blushed in embarrassment. "Your friend is out of surgery, he'll be awake soon. You can come in if you'd like."

"Thanks. Is he alright?"

"The pencil was a few millimeters shy of puncturing his lung, he'll need some rest to heal and we want to make sure he didn't get any poisoning from anything but he's fine otherwise. This way."

Kiara started to follow, but stopped, and looked back at Nate, "You want to come along?"

It was like opening a window to a sunny day, the way Nate's face lit up as he nodded, and followed after the agent.

Chase was groggy as he surfaced from the fog of sleep; a soft groan left his lips. He felt someone gently squeeze his arm, then another hand squeeze on his opposite wrist. Confused, he tried to open his eyes.

"Easy, Chase, it's just us." Kiara was calm, but he wanted to know who the other hand belonged to.

"Who's…"

"Me again." There was a very familiar voice as Chase blinked his eyes clear to see…

"N...Nate?"

"Hi. How are you feeling?" The jade-eyed fellow had his chin is his palm, his other hand very gently grasped at Chase's wrist, with a blanket that kept their skin separated. After a moment, Kiara came into view as well, her hand resting on the sleeve covering his upper arm.

"G… good. What happened?"

"You got stabbed. Water?" Kiara gently touched a straw to his cheek and he turned to sip away the contents.

"Thanks." He coughed, and looked back over at Nate, "How did you get to me?"

"I just tailed you down."

"Past the guards?"

"Just needed to cause a ruckus and they abandoned ship. I took the gun off the first guard and fired a warning shot to get all those kids off you and set off your watch."

"...you grabbed my wrist."

"I did."

"...did you see…"

"Through the window?... Yeah, yeah I did." Chase swallowed loudly at Nate's reply, and Kiara cleared her throat.

"I need to call the director, let him know you're awake and what your recovery plan looks like. I'll be back, about 15 minutes, alright?"

"Okay.." Chase breathed.

"Would you like me to stay?" Nate asked quietly; him and Chase held a stare before he nodded again. Kiara smiled, squeezed Chase's arm again, and left the two alone. There was a good few minutes of just the sound of the medical equipment before Nate blushed.

"What?"

"I… I dunno. Never thought I'd be on vacation in a hospital keeping company to a very handsome man." He hummed, "Well, maybe if I was a sugar baby."

"You probably make more than I do, you damn leaf-water slurper!"

"Hey! Don't you go insulting our tea!" Nate gasped, and Chase laughed as he turned his hand over under the sheet and gently squeezed Nate's arm, which drew a blush.

"I bet you drink it with more sugar than tea..."

"...well, you're not wrong." Nate smiled before he bit his lip, "Chase I.. I want to hold your hand."

Chase blanched, and slightly withdrew himself involuntarily which resulted in that moment-long kicked-puppy face. _Oh no, I don't like that face._

"I-I…"

"Kiara told me about the bad windows, and I know it's none of my business, but… please. You can't tell me you didn't feel something different in that window." Nate's voice shook in his throat, almost as painful as the way Chase's stomach twisted, "I promise, I'll leave this room and we'll never have to see each other again if it goes bad."

"But… what if it goes good?"

Nate opened his mouth, but he did not have an immediate answer, Instead, he seemed to toss his thoughts around, then settled on something.

"We go from there."

Chase stared long and hard before he nodded, and drew his hand out from under the sheet. It was shaking, and he realized Nate's was too as he offered his palm-up. Slowly, the red-head lowered his hand to touch Nate's palm. There was a spark of cold that made him snap away, and Nate keened softly.

"What's wrong?"

"It's like fire when you touch me, Chase… It's… f-fuck…"

Chase chewed his lip, and gently set his hand down again. The snap of cold was less prevalent as his fingers touched the other's, and slowly, he lowered it down until Nate's hand loosely held his. When nothing happened, they slowly turned them, until their finger intertwined and slotted together, then rested.

Chase shook continuously, out of fear or excitement was unknown, but Nate made a soft noise and canted forward to press his forehead to the other's. It was then that the world around them changed.

It was dark but there was a shower of light that covered them, Chase looked to see fireworks in the sky. He could feel the reverberating boom in his chest, but it was nothing to how hard his heart pounded. His eyes turned to the person that sat by him, and gasped when he spotted Nate.

 **_"Nate…"_ **

His own hand reached out and took the other's chin to turn them and stare at the face of pure joy and wonder presented. There must have been a shift because Chase heard Nate say " **_Oh."_ ** and started to lean towards him.

 **_You can do this, Chase. No turning back._ **

It was like a scene from a romance, but Chase could hear the internal turmoil of himself as they got close enough that their noses and bottom lips touched but he froze. Nate tried to console and encourage him, and it seemed to work. There was a soft kiss on his bottom lip…

 **_"It's okay, Chase."_ **

A little laugh rolled out and the red-head cracked his own shell as he closed the distance, a passionate kiss was followed by others were personified by the fireworks exploding before them. Chase was in heaven, tears running down from his own eyes as he could feel the window event burn into his mind. It started to go dark again but he could hear it, his own voice again.

 **_"I… I hope that was as memorable for you as it was for me…"_ **

**_"I...yeah… I'm never going to forget that… ever…_ **"

Chase came back to reality with his lips tightly locked to Nate's, their hands squeezed each other's so hard his tingled. He could feel tears run down his face as he shook from the overwhelming event, his other hand grasped sandy hair as the Brit clutched the blanket by his hip.

Chase wasn't scared. He wanted to hold Nate, and never let him leave. They were gasping for air when they finally broke apart, and he vocally whined when Nate sat back in his chain.

"I… I… h-holy shit."

"What... what was that?" Chase breathed, their hands still tightly twined.

"I don't know, but… it was amazing… Hey…"

"Yeah?"

"You wanna.. You wanna come stay with me?"

A week passed before Nate and Chase were seated in the airport. Nate was leaned against Chase's chest, the redhead in turn rested his chin on the other. They had their hands intertwined, a bag at their feet, waiting quietly for the boarding call… Chase wasn't going to follow Nate back where he lived in Brighton. As much as he wanted to, he had things he had to take care of. Anyhow, Nate had a big mission he had to attend to when he got back so they wouldn't get to see each other either way.

* * *

It had been a long and well-filled week, Chase mused. The two had spent most their time together; they got to know each other here and now as well through the soul windows. It seemed they had a lot of history… or maybe they were the history. Either way, Chase had lost track of how many different soul windows they'd looked through.

"Chase?" Nate's voice brought him from his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Stop thinking so hard."

"I'm not, I swear." He chuckled as he kissed the other's head, "What tipped you off?"

"Your heart starts to speed up. I could hear it."

"Was it now?"

"Yeah. You were more starting to think hard than already doing it, wanted to stop it before you got 'too deep'."

"How can you tell when I think too hard?"

"You breathe heavier… and you get clingy."

"I do not!" Chase teasingly denied, but he could feel Nate's smirk against his chest. There was a loud squawk when he moved his hands to a more ticklish part of Nate's body, and within a few minutes the two were slightly sprawled out on the bench as they laughed and ignored stares.

"So," The jade-eyed man started as the two sat back up and he propped his head on his arm, "Should I come visit you or vice versa?"

"Hmmm… we can jump back and forth. I'll be warned through, I share with my sisters."

"Mmm, it's fine. Their important to you, and I can't wait to meet them."

"They'll like you."

"Excuse me," A heavily accented voice interrupted them, and they looked over to see…

 _Wow,_ Chase thought, _Those are the prettiest grey eyes I've ever seen._

"Are you guys waiting for Flight 340?"

"Yeah, actually." Nate smiled, his British accent suddenly becoming thicker, as if to match the Scottish accent the man had, "You get lost?"

"Yeah, I'd lose my damn brain if it wasn't in my head. Thanks!" The Scot walked away, and Nate let out a little noise that Chase already knew as admiration. He glanced over.

"Easy Nate, it's hard to hide a nine inch party popsicle."

"Oh my GOD!" Nate roared in a laughter for a moment then wiped the tears away before he leaned over to whisper, "Specially when we're going to be sitting next to each other."

"Really? How can you tell?"

"Saw his flight ticket."

"You going to try to enter the mile-high club?" Chase joked, and Nate shook his head.

"I'll save that when we start going places together… Chase."

"Hm?"

"I just… Are you going to be okay?"

Chase's chest tightened, and he started to chew on his lip. Nate watched him for his tells, then leaned over and kissed the other's cheek. Quietly, the two intertwined fingers and pressed their foreheads together. For a brief moment, a window opened and like a breeze, a vision passed by. They had been apart before… but they always knew they'd come back.

There was a call on the intercom, and Chase swallowed, suddenly feeling sick. Nate clutched his hand tighter, and the two watched as people started to get on the airplane. They'd wait for as long as they could.

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"I love you." Chase swallowed a wave of emotional that almost broke him out into a sob before the two wrapped each other in a tight hug.

"I love you too."

"Well see each other soon, okay? I promise. Chase, listen. Don't be afraid, don't draw yourself back in. If you find someone else with a window, and a good window, don't push them away."

"But… they're not you."

"That's okay. Hey, who knows, maybe we have a third piece!"

"That's a thing?" Chase asked skeptically.

"Yeah, I know a few triads, they're pretty happy too. But beside that, go home to your sisters, go have more crab with your bestie… Hell, find a fling buddy if you'd like but please, don't draw in on yourself again. "

"You sound like we've done this before."

"...I mean, technically, haven't we?"

Chase wasn't wrong. Their was another call, and Nate murmured softly, "We'll be back together soon, okay?"

"Okay." Chase let Nate go to collect his bag, and watched him before something clicked, "Wait, what do you mean have _more_ crab with your bestie?"

Nate suddenly turned a very particular shade of red, "D-Did I say more? I just meant go eat some c-crab-"

"How do you know I like crab?"

"Oh, jeeze, look at the time! I better go on the plane." Nate laughed awkwardly, but made a silent squeak as he was grabbed by the bag and pulled into Chase's chest, the red-head leaned his head down to murmur huskily into his ear.

"You were spying on us, weren't you?"

"N-No.. I j-just happened to uh… be at the banquet too, I swear." There was a shake in his voice as the way Chase spoke shot heat down his body, even more when Chase let out that deep rumble.

"...I'll have to 'interrogate' you more later on this subject….later." There was a sneak grope of the front and Nate was a moaning tomato, eyes slightly glazed as Chase gave him a kiss on the cheek, then the lips, " Don't be long, okay?"

"I won't… I'll call when I'm home, okay?" There was one more hug, one more kiss, then Nate started to leave Chase where he stood, their hands holding each other till they couldn't anymore.

"Okay. Be safe, Nate."

"You too, Chase."

Nate only paused just as he was about to go through the gate door and looked back to blow a kiss. Chase caught it, and blew one back before he laughed when Nate 'pretend' to be stuck in the face by it, the two waving before Nate was gone.

Quietly, Chase sighed, and started to head back to his car. The loneliness was already on the move, as were the thoughts. Would this work? Could this work? What if something happened? What if someone with a better Soul Window came along for Nate? What if this was all a dream? What if-

His phone buzzing startled him, and he drew it out of his pocket to read the text from Nate.

 **_I can STILL hear you thinking! :P Everything will be fine. Love you! 3_ **

Chase smiled, and started to type a message back.

 **_Okay, okay. I believe you. Love you too 3_ **

Chase had just pressed send before he collided with someone, and gasped loudly as his phone and some other various objects fell to the floor. Quickly, he recovered and looked up to see a very tan and very blonde man. He was almost as tall as Chase, but maybe a few years younger.

"Crikey, I'm so sorry mate!" The Kiwi accent was prominent, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Was looking at my phone. Shit, lemme help you with your stuff."

The two bent down and started grabbing stuff, which turned out to be just some miscellaneous snacks, board wax, and their phones. Once he had grabbed up his phone and sunglasses, he started to pick up the wax.

"Do you surf?" Chase laughed, and they reached forward to grab the same container. Normally, Chase would have pulled back, but after a week with Nate, he just… forgot to.

There was a hot flash that went over him, and suddenly he was in total darkness. There was a loud, steaming hiss of air and loud mechanical movement that made Chase's heart jump to his throat in fear, but he did not move. Instead, he felt… something else? What the hell was that?

A humongous shape, a _titanic robot_ like he'd seen in other windows, moved into his vision and he gape in amazement as it crouched as low as it could get, a giant purple optical level to his face. It showered him in warm light, that he realized he was reveling in. Before, in other windows and dreams, he was afraid of the giant monsters that towered over him… but not this one. A hand swept around behind him and pulled him in close before he was pressing his forehead adoringly to the glass, arms wrapped around the giant thumb that press to his chest.

 **_"I missed you, Chase."_ **

**_"I missed you too, Micah…"_ **

Chase snapped back to reality, and looked up to make direct eye contact with the other. He was and wasn't surprised to find bright purple eyes staring back in an awed wonder, before the men's mouth moved.

"W...was that… that a soul window?"

"Yeah, I… I think so."

Slowly, the two finished picking everything up and stood, and Chase awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Micah looked no less awkward, a silence that followed before Chase couldn't help it.

"Where are you headed?"

"LA; I'm going there for a Surfing Tournament, my sponsors sent me out here from Aukland."

"LA? That's closer than Vegas! How did you end up here? Did they pay for your flight tickets?"

"Have to meet with a sponsor here in about thirty. Yeah… why you ask?" the Kiwi's voice wasn't guarded, instead, curious. He looked tired, Chase couldn't blame him.

"I mean, I'm about to drive back there if you'd like to come with me. It's a four hour trip, but as a passenger...it's a great nap after that much jetlag."

"What about my stuff?"

"I can get that taken care of." Chase beamed, and slowly, Micah smiled back with a nod.

"Okay… sure. Wow, I never expected this to happen. Chase, right?"

"Yeah, Chase. Micah, yeah?"

"Yeah… Shit mate, I'm starving. You know any good food out here?"

"Hell yeah I do, I can take you to your meeting and we'll grab a bite on the way!" Chase laughed, and the two started to head towards the exit of the airport. While Nate was not forgotten, the loneliness he'd felt was gone thanks to another window. A thought crossed his mind.

 _Maybe Soul Windows aren't all that bad…_

* * *

On the plane, the anxiety Nate had felt for Chase suddenly started to subside, and he got this wave of a feeling that everything was going to be okay. Quietly, he let out a sigh, then looked over as the man from earlier sat down.

"Hello again!" Nate smiled, and the Scot looked surprised before he too returned it.

"Why hello! Didn't expect to see you again." he laughed, buckling himself in and getting comfortable, "Not squishing you, am I?"

"Nah, not at all!"

There was a quiet as the two got themselves ready for the long flight, before Nate felt his arm get bumped, and looked over only to gape as he saw the other was offering him an open bottle of alcohol.

"Fancy a sip? Helps me calm down before a long flight."

"Where the hell did you get that?" He took it still, testing it out and was pleasantly surprised at it's smoothness, "Wow, it's good!"

"My family makes it, was here for a business trip for my da."

"They make it well." Nate gave the bottle back, "Thanks."

"Anytime. What's your name?"

"Nate Ryan. You?"

"Daniel Sinclair."

There was a hand offered, and the two shook. For a moment, a Window opened and a strong feeling of a strengthened friendship passed through them. They could see it in each other's eyes, the recognition of a close friend. Daniel only smiled even brighter as Nate shook his hand a bit more firmly, and they began to chat as if they'd never been strangers once before.

Chase was not forgotten, the loneliness he'd felt was gone thanks to another window. Truly, no one understood how Soul Windows worked, but there was one thing for sure.

They were there when you need them.


End file.
